At the height of its fame, this mysterious civilization ruled over 125,000 square miles of territory in parts of Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Belize. What began as a group of humble hunter-gatherers grew into more than forty prosperous city-states that built towering temple pyramids, exquisite palaces, and advanced water conservancy systems.
Where did they come from, and what disaster caused the collapse of this innovative civilization? From the temple-pyramids of Tikal, to the royal tombs of Palenque, to the observatory at Chichen Itza, this episode explores the buildings and infrastructure that contributed to the rise and fall of the ancient Mayan civilization.
In less than 200 years, the Aztecs went from a group of nomads to the greatest civilization the New World has ever seen. The record of this astonishing feat shows that they overcame the harsh environments they faced through brilliant military campaigns and the ingenious use of technology.
They built their capital where no city should have been: in the middle of a lake. The Aztecs also practiced human sacrifice on an unprecedented scale and made many enemies. When the Spanish landed, they had no trouble recruiting tribal allies to crush the Aztecs. Join host Peter Weller to examine the buildings and infrastructure behind the New World’s largest and last Aboriginal society.
